Underground conduit



.Fufly 23, 1935. H. w. PORTER ET AL UNDERGROUND CONDUI T 2 sheets-sheet1 Filed Oct. 5, 1954 ATTORNEY July 23; 1935- H. w. PORTER ET ALUNDERGROUND CONDUIT Filed Oct. 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uwToRs 0 Md 9% l?'1 M I ATTONEY I Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES- UNDERGROUNDCONDUIT Harry W. Porter, Maplewood, N. J., and William C. Boren, Jr.)Greensboro, N.

Application October 3,1934; Serial No. 746,634

In Canada June 8, 1934 10, Claims. (01. 28 l12).

This application is a continuation in part of our copending applicationSerial No. 679,512 filed July 8, 1933, and the invention relates ingeneral to conduits and particularly to underground con- 5 duits forhousing, protecting and insulating pipes which are usedfor conductingsteamfrom a cen tral: heating plant to different buildings to be heated.The conduit in general consists of an approximately flat monolithic orconcrete base,

pipe supports which can be set directly on said base, side wallsformed'of hollow tile-like blocks set end to end' on said base andembracing portions of the pipe supports to hold them in posi-' restrainrelative lateral movement of the tile and retard infiltration ofmoisture through the joints.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved joint between the endsof two tile or building block wherein the tile shall have longitudinallyextending recesses in their ends and the end of at least one of twoendwise abutting tile shall be formed to permit easy insertion of mortaror cement into the space between the tile and into said longitudinalrecesses to lock the tile together against relative lateral movement andto lock' the mortar in the joint and provide a tortu-j ous passagein'the joint to restrain seepage of water'therethrough. a

A further. object is to provide novel and improved top tile and side"tile of the general-char acter described which shall have longitudinalopenings therethrough and at least one end providedwitha beveled surfacewhich intersects said longitudinal openings so as to permit thereplacement of concrete or mortar between the ends" of. two adjacenttile and into said longitudinal openings for mechanicallyinterlockingthe tile together. 7

Other objects are to provide a novel and improved method'of forming thebeveled surfaces onithe ends of the tile sections whereby the tile canbeinitially formed with end surfaces per pendicular to the axes of thetile, and portions of the. end surfaces can be brokenaway after firingof'the tile to provide such beveled surfaces;

and to? obtain other advantages and. results aswill be brought out bythe following description. Referring to the accompanying drawings inwhich corresponding and like parts are design natedby the same referencecharacters through-- out the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective sectional View: of an underground conduitincluding tile and tile joints. embodyingour invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of a tile pipe-from which the tile sectionsof our conduit areformed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tile pipe shown in Figure 2 splitinto, two half sections, each of which comprise a top section for ourconduit. I I

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view throughtwo abutting tile and the joint therebetween.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of one of the side tile sections.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary longitu dinal section'through theend of one-of the tile :sections showing the manner of forming the tileso that a portion may be broken away to" provide a beveled surface onthe endthereof and Figure 7' is a similar view showing a portion ofthe'end of the tile broken away-to form a beveled surface. ISpecifically describing the conduit in connection with which ourinvention may beutilized, the conduitv includes a base A which ispreferably monolithic and formed of cementitiousmaterial such asconcrete so that the base canbe formed at the situs of the conduit. Thebase preferably has a substantially flat top I", and a longitudinaldrain channel or gutter'z along approximately the longitudinal medianline'of the base". Side walls B are setv upon the top I of the base andsupport a top or roof C" which is in arched relation to the sidewalls.Within the conduit are arranged supports D" for supporting pipes or thelike E. v

The side walls B- are formed ofblock. sections which are preferablyhollow tile 3, approximate ly trapezoidal in cross section and having"l'onigitudinal openings 4 therethrougli, to form' liollow'side walls forthe conduit; These tile sec-- tions 3 are set upon the top of the baseI' in end; to end rela'tionto each other with the wider of the parallelsides resting on the'base and with the openings 4 disposed in alinementlongitudinally of the conduit. Each tile section has at the sidethereofwhich is disposed inwardly or the conduit a plurality of longitudinalledges 5 parallel and adjacent to the wider of the two parallel sides ofthe section for cooperating with the corresponding ledges on theopposite tilesec tions to support a horizontal partition 5! whichdivides the conduit into a lower drainage chamber beneath the partitionand an upper pipe containing chamber above the partition, the two ledgespermitting the partition to be set at different elevations. Also, thetile is shown as formed with channels 40 in its walls.

The roof C is also formed of sections 6, each constituting a halfsection of a tile pipe, being approximately semi-circular in crosssection; and each section preferably has closely spaced longitudinalchannels between the inner and outer sides of the section, certain ofwhich designated i are preferably approximately rectangular in crosssection. These tile sections are set upon the tops 8 of the side wallsections 3 in end toend relation to each other with the channels 1 ofadjacent sections, preferably although not necessarily, in alinementlongitudinally of the conduit.

Sections of this character may be formed as illustrated in Figures 2 and3 of the drawings by making a tile pipe with two diametrically oppositelongitudinal channels Hi, which are preferably diamond shaped incross-section and have one axis disposed diametrically of the tile, andweakening the walls of the pipe in the diametral plane in which saidchannels 10 are disposed, as indicated by the longitudinal scorings 9 inFigure 2, and then splitting the pipe along said weakened portions asshown in Figure 3. It will be observed that the described arrangement ofthe channels 16 locate two opposite angles of each channel adjacent theinner and outer walls of the pipe, respectively, and these angles serve=the same purpose as the scorings 9 to weaken the walls of the pipe.When the pipe is split into two sections as shown in Figure 3, eachsection has a longitudinal groove IE3 in each edge thereof. With thisconstruction, when the sections are set upon the side walls, the groovesi0 receive some of the mortar of the joint 60 between the top sectionsand side sections to provide a key between the sections and to retardseepage of moisture through the joint. Preferably, also, one end of eachsection 5 has an exterior beveled surface ll intersecting said channelsl and 70, so that when said end of the section is arranged in end to endand alined relation with one end of the other section as shown in Figure4, a wide clearance for the application of mortar into the joint isprovided and the mortar will easily flow into the ends of thelongitudinal channels I and 10 so as to provide a mortar-key l2 betweenthe sections as well as a tortuous passage for water through the joint.The mortar also closes the ends of the channels I and H1 so as toprovide closed air spaces to enhance the heat insulating qualities ofthe tile. This structure eliminates the usual bell and spigot joint andprovides a smooth outer surface for the top of the conduit so that ifdesired, whole conduit or only the mortar joints I2 may be protectedagainst seepage of moisture therethrough by a suitable waterproofmembrane or covering of waterproof material.

Each side tile B also preferably has at least one end formed withbeveled surfaces M which intersect the channels 40, these beveledsurfaces corresponding to the beveled surfaces 1 l on the top tile andwith this construction, when the end of one tile is arranged in end toend and alined relation with one end of another tile as shown in Figure4, a wide clearance for the application of mortar or cement into thejoint between the tile is provided and the mortar will easily flow intothe ends of the longitudinal channels 40 to provide a mortar-like key orjoint like the mortar key between the top sections 6. Of course, thisjoint may be covered with waterproof material just as is the joint :2and it will be observed that the joints may be made substantially fiator smooth on the outer surfaces of the tile to facilitate theapplication of such waterproof coating.

The upwardly converging sides of the trapezoidal side tile 3 outside andinside the conduit tend to facilitate draining of exterior water fromthe conduit and conduct interior moisture rapidly downwardly to thedraining chamber 2 respectively, and special filling of crushed rock,gravel and the like and extra outside drain pipes to facilitate drainageare not required. Moreover, the trapezoidal side tile provide stablesupports for the top tile so as to facilitate erection of the conduit.Furthermore, the hollow structure of the side tiles with thelongitudinal channels serve as secondary drain channels for carrying offany moisture which may seep through the joints between the side tile,and said tile also have high heat insulating qualities due to air in thechambers 4. The longitudinal channel 1 and 40 in the top and sidesections respectively enhance the heat insulating qualities of theconduit sections due to the confinement of air within the channels.

The side tile are preferably provided with exterior grooves 50 in thejoint surfaces for providing a bond between the tile and mortar.

Our invention also contemplates a method for forming the beveledsurfaces H and It on the top and side tile respectively. These tile areusually formed by an extruding process and it is highly desirable tohave the ends of the tile flat and in planes perpendicular to the axesof the tile so that the tile may be conveniently. and stably set upontheir ends. Accordingly the tile are initially extruded in the plasticform in their desired shapes with their end surfaces flat and wholly inplanes perpendicular to the axes of the tile, and then are formed withslits or grooves l5 and [6 on the outer surfaces and end surfacesrespectively, said grooves or slits l5 and I6 of each tile being inapproximately the same plane which intersects the openings 1 or 40 andis inclined with respect to the ends and axis of the tile correspondingto the desired beveled surface to be formed. The tile can then be firedor baked in the usual manner, and have their end surfaces in planesperpendicular to their axes. There fore the tile can be easily andstably set on their ends for handling and transportation without dangerof their tipping over. When the tile reaches the situs of the conduit tobe installed, the workmen may tap the portions of the tile outwardly ofthe slits l5 and IS with a hammer or the like so as to break off the endportions of the tile outwardly of and between the slits as shown inFigure '7. This produces the beveled surfaces II and M respectivelyandit will be observed also that rough surfaces I! are formed at theline of cleavage of the portions which are broken off. These roughportions enhance the bond between the mortar or cement and the tilesections. This is particularly advantageous Where the tile are submittedto a glazing proces as is usual, because the rough surfaces H which areformed by breaking of the tile after the glazing operation, are unglazedand porous so as to provide for firm adhesion of the mortar or cementupon the surfaces.

It is highly important that the beveled surfaces H and I4 intersect thelongitudinal channels l and 40, so that the portions of the walls of thechannels nearest the outer sides of the tile are cut away to provide forfree entry of the mortar into the channels so the mortar is insertedbetween the tile. In other words, it is desirable that outer edge of atleast one end of the block be cut away along its perimeter on a planeintersecting the recesses, and preferably the cut away portion or thesurface formed thereby terminates short of the inner walls of the tile,i. e., the concave surface of the tile 53 and the walls of thelongitudinal opening 4, respectively, so that the shoulder portions HIof the block formed by the inner walls of the channels will guide themortar into the recesses as the mortar is forced between the blocks.

The invention has been shown in connection with tiles or blocks forconduits but obviously the invention is equally susceptible to use inbuilding blocks for other purposes.

While we have shown our invention as embodied in certain details ofstructure, it should be understood that this is primarily for thepurpose of illustrating the principles of the invention and that manymodifications and changes may be made in the structure of the tile andjoint without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

. Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a tile conduit, two tile sections arranged end to end and eachhaving longitudinal openings in its end between opposite faces of thetile section and the end of one tile having an exterior beveled surfaceintersecting the openings and forming a space for a mortar joint betweenthe ends of the tile, and mortar in said joint extend- .ing into theends of said openings to lock the into the ends of said channels to lockthe mor tar in the joint and the two tile sections together.

3. A tile having longitudinal channels in its walls at its ends betweenopposite faces of the tile and at least one end formed with an exteriorbevel surface intersecting said channels to provide a clearance for theinsertion of mortar between said block and an endwise adjoining blockand into said recesses of said blocks.

4. A unit for use in constructing conduits comprising a tilesemi-circular in cross-section and having longitudinal channels throughits walls between the convex and concave surfaces thereof and acontinuous exterior beveled surface on at least one end extending alongthe convex side of the tile and intersecting said channels.

5. A unit for use in constructing conduits comprising a hollow tiletrapezoidal in cross-section and having longitudinal channels throughits walls between opposite faces thereof and a continuous exteriorbeveled surface on at least one end extending along one side of theblock and intersecting said channels.

6. A tile having recesses in its ends between opposite faces of the tileand its outer edge on at least one end cut away on .a plane intersectingsaid recesses to form a shoulder inwardly of said recesses. 1 a Y o 7. Atile having; longitudinal closely spaced openings in each end betweenopposite faces of the tile, and an exterior perimetral groove or scoreadjacent one end the plane of which intersects said openings so that theend edges of the tile can be broken off between said openings and saidgroove to. form a rough porous surface and provide a clearance for theinsertion of mortar between said tile and an endwise adjoining tile andinto said openings in the tile;

8. The tile set forth in claim- 3 wherein said bevel surface has a roughportion of the character of the surface of a cleavage produced bybreaking of the tile.

9. The tile conduit set forth in claim 1 wherein said bevel surface hasa rough portion of the character of the surface of a cleavage producedby breaking of the tile.

10. In a tile conduit, two tile sections arranged end to end andeachhaving longitudinal openings in its ends between opposite faces of tileand the end of one tile having its outer edge cut away on a planeintersecting said recesses to form a shoulder inwardly of said recessesand provide space for a mortar joint between the adjoining ends of thetwo tile sections, and mortar extending into the ends of said openingsto lock the mortar in the joint and the two tile sections together.

HARRY W. PORTER, WILLIAM C. BOREN, JR.

